Roughage and hammer mill



ROUGHAGE AND HAMMER MILL Filed Jan. 2, 1941 7 Sheets Sheet 1 FIG. I

'INVENTOR; HENRY E. KORUM ATTORNEYS.

'7 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 2, 1941 OWN N oE

mmN

I I nul INVENTOR: HENRY E. RUM

ATTORNEYS.

Oct. 10, 1944. H. E. KORUM ROUGHAGE AND HAMMER MILL Filed Jan. 2, 1941 7' Sheets-Sheet 5 a mm 6 ,L 92 om SJM a V A @N ma 5 8. NF

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. INVENTOR; HENRY E. KORUM BY 14' ATTORNEYS.

Oct. 10, 1944.

FIG. 5

Filed Jan. 2, 1941 '7 Sheets- Sheet 4 HENRY E. KORUM A TTORNEYS.

7 Sheets-Sheet 5 H. E. KORUM ROUGHAGE AND HAMMER MILL Filed Jan. 2. 1941 Get. 10, 1944.

INPENTOR: HENRY E. KORUM Oct. 10, 1944.

H. E. KORUM ROUGHAGE AND HAMMER MILL 7 sheets-sheet 6 Filed Jan. 2, 1941 FIG.

INVENTOR:

E. KORUM HENRY FIG. 90

j ATTORNEYS.

Patented Oct. 10, 1944 ROUGHAGE AND HAMMER MILL Henry E. Korum, East Moline, Ill., assignor to Deere & Company, Moline, Ill., a corporation of Illinois Application January 2, 1941, Serial No. 372,724

.6 Claims.

The present invention relates generally to crop comminuting machines and more particularly to a combination roughage and hammer mill which is provided with both a cutter head and a hammer mill rotor, with provision for feeding crop material either to the cutter head or to the hammer mill rotor. The principal object of this invention relates to the provision of a mill of this class of improved design, which is stronger, more durable, more efiicient, and is easy to maintain and repair whenever necessary.

A further object of this invention relates more specifically to the provision of a housing for a machine of the class described, which is separable along a line of division which provides for maximum accessibility of all the working parts for the purpose of adjustments and of replacement of the parts which receive the most wear.

Another object of this invention has to do specifically with an improved means for mounting the cutter head in the housing, providing for quickly installing and removing the cutter head with a minimum disturbance of the other parts of the machine.

Still another object of the present invention relates to the provision of a feeding means for introducing the crop material to be chopped in the rotary cutter head, with additional provision for feeding crop material directly to the hammer mill rotor. A further object has to do with the provision of directional vanes or louvers in the air intake to the housing of the machine for controlling the direction of the air flow into and through the housing.

A still further object relates to the provision relates to the provision of a new and improved hay roll or feeder for packing hay under the compression web, and in which the tendency for hay to wrap or cling to the hay roll is appre ciably reduced.

Another object of the present invention relates to the provision of a knife grinder built into the roughage and hammer mill, having a novel guide for facilitating the grinding of the helical blades of the cutter head.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will be made apparent by a consideration of the following description in which reference is had to the drawings appended hereto, in which Figure 1 is a plan view of a roughage and. hammer mill embodying the principles of the present invention, shown with the detachable housing section removed and also with the top wall of the main housing section removed;

Figure 2 is a side elevational view of one side of the mill;

Figure 3 is a side elevational view of the other side of the mill;

Figure 4 is a detailed plan view drawn to an enlarged scale of the casting which supports the bearing for one end of the cutter head and other parts of the comminuting mechanism;

Figure 5 is a sectional elevational View taken along a line 5-5 in Figure 1;

Figure 6 is a fragmentary plan view drawn to an enlarged scale, showing the air intake opening and fan bearing, as indicated by a line 67-45 in Figure 3;

Figure 7 is an elevational view drawn to an enlarged scale and shown partially in section, of the double roller carriage for the compression feed belt and the track mounting therefor;

Figure 8 is an end elevational view of the carriage and mounting shown in Figure '7;

Figure 9 is a side elevational view ,of the hay roll;

Figure 10 is an end elevational view of the same;

Figure 11 is a plan view, drawn to an enlarged scale, of the knife grinder and guide therefor; and

Figure 12 is a side elevational view of the knife grinder, showing the position of a knife being ground thereby.

Referring now to the drawings and more particularly to Figures 1 to 5, inclusive, the comminuting machine comprises generally a housing l5 in which are enclosed a rotary chopping member in the form of a cutter head [6 and a rotary grinding member in the form of a hammer null rotor H, as best seen in Figure 5.

The housing l5 includes a lower upright box portion l8 includingfour vertical walls within which is a hopper I9 having inclined walls. The

upper edges of the walls [8 terminate in a submeans of a pair of structural frame members 2 l, fixed to the side walls of the housing by bolts or rivets 22 and having a downwardly curved central portion 23 serving as supporting cradles for the bearings 24 at opposite ends of the shaft 25 of the hammer mill rotor I1.

The rotor comprises a plurality of triangular plates 30 supported on the rotor shaft 25, which extends through aligned central openings in the plates 30, and between the plates 30 are disposed a plurality of spacing rings 3|, best shown in Figure l. The corners of the equilateral triangular plates 30 are disposed in alignment and are interconnected each by a'rod 32.

Each of the rods 32 extends through aligned openings in the corners of the triangular plates 30 and supports a number of stepped hammers 33, all of the inner ends of which terminate adjacent the outer circumferences of the rings 3| and permit a limited amount of swinging movement about the axes of the rods 32. For further details of construction of the hammer mill rotor ll, reference is hereby made to my co-pending application, Serial No. 355,977, filed September 9, 1940.

The hammer mill rot-or I7 is driven through a suitable belt pulley 34 fixed on the end of the rotor shaft 25 which is extended outside of one of the walls of the housing I8 for this purpose, as best shown in Figures 1 and 3.

Beneath the rotor I1 is disposed an arcuate screen 40 through which'the crop material passes after it is ground by the hammers 33 and falls to the hopper I9 in the housing l8. The screen 40 is supported between a pair of arcuate guides 4| fixed to the longitudinal housingwalls at opposite edges of, the arcuate screen 40. One end of the screen abuts against a casting member 42 which is fixed to the lower housing section IB and serves not only as a stop for the screen 4|] but also to close the upper end of the housing portion I8 between the screen and the end wall thereof. The opposite end of the screen 40 is held by means of a transversely disposed breaker bar 44 which is'supported by suitable brackets 45 on the walls of the lower housing section |8.

Above the lower housing section |8- are disposed a pair of detachable cooperative upper housing sections 59, One of the upper housing sections 50 supports the'cutter head l6 and the majority of the mechanism for feeding crop material to the comminuting rotors, as will be later described. This housing section 50 comprises a pair of longitudinally extending vertical side walls 52, 53 and a top Wall 54. The lower edges of the side walls 52, 53 terminate in a generally horizontal plane and are adapted to register with the upper edges of the walls of the lower section i8, to form a unitary housing l5. The upper section 50 is connected to the lower section |8 by means of bolts 55 which interconnect a pair of flanges on the side walls 52, 53 and the frame members 2|, respectively.

The cutter head l6 comprises a supporting shaft 60 journaled at opposite ends thereof, respectively, in a pair of bearings 6|, which are fixed to a pair of supporting brackets 52 which are fixedly supported on the opposite side walls 52, 53, respectively, by means of bolts 63. The bearings 6| are rigidly bolted to the bracket 62 by means of bolts 64. The chopping rotor l6 comprises a plurality (three, in the illustration shown and described hereinlof helical knives or cutting blades 65 of the lawn mower type, which are supported on a pair of laterally spaced spiders 66 fixed to the shaft 60 at opposite ends thereof, respectively, within the housing section 50.

One end of the cutter head shaft 60 extends through the wall 53 of the housing and supports a driving pulley 61 driven by a pair of V-belts 68 which are trained around a driving pulley B9 on the hammer mill shaft 25 which is extended beyond the housing wall on the side opposite the driving pulley 34. The other end of the cutter head shaft 60 extends through the housing wall 52 and carries a driving pulley 10 connected by a suitable belt H to a large diameter pulley 12 which is used for driving the various parts of the feeding mechanism in a manner which will be described more fully at a later time.

The cutter head. l6 cooperates with a shear bar 15 which is carried on a transversely extending bed plate 16 having extensions 11 at opposite ends thereof and which extend outwardly through the sides 52, 53 of the upper housing section 50. The bed plate extensions 11 serve to support the bed plate on the side brackets 62. The bed plate 16 is fixed to each of the brackets 62 by means of a bolt 18. Behind the bed plate 16 is disposed a feed roller supported on a shaft 8| which is journaled at opposite ends thereof in bearings 82 disposed outside the side walls 52, 53 of the hous ing section 50. Each of the bearings 82 is mounted on the unitary bracket member 62. Between the roller 80 and the shear bar 15 is a stripper plate 83 which has one edge disposed closely adjacent the surface of the feed roller 80 for the purpose of stripping crop material therefrom and preventing it from wrapping thereon. The plate 83 also serves as a feed table over which the material is fed to the chopping action of the knives 65 against the shear bar 15. I

It is now evident that the purpose of the side bracket members 62 is to support the cutter head, shear bar, stripper plate, and feed roller in a rigidly fixed position relative to each other, inasmuch as these elements cannot move out of adjustment with respect to each other without seriously impairing the operation of the mill. By thus mounting the various aforesaid members on a unitary bracket, it is possible to construct the remainder of the housing section 50 of a lighter material such as sheet metal.

, It will be noted that the cutter head H5 is disposed above the hammer mill rotor I! and is rotatable about an axis substantially parallel to the axis of the hammer mill rotor and offset slightly to one side of the latter. As crop material is chopped by the knives 65 and shear bar 15, it falls into the hammer mill rotor by means of which it is further reduced until it is in a condition to pass through the screen 40. In order to gain access to the cutter head I6 and the hammer mill rotor H, the upper housing sections 50, 5| are divided along a plane indicated by reference numeral 85 This plane of division is generally vertical but is inclined slightly toward the cutter head rotor and thus passes closel adjacent to each of the rotors to provide easy access thereto. It is to be noted that the plane of division passes through the paths of rotation of both the cutter headand th hammer mill rotor, so that when the cover section 5| of the housing is detached, the knives 65 and hammers 33 pass outside of the housing section 50 when they are rotated and thus permitting the knives and hammers to be adjusted and sharpened, if desired, without removing them from the housing. The planev of division 85 intersects the horizontal plane of division 20 within the diameter of the path of rotation of the hammer mill rotor, so that when the detachable housing section is removed, the breaker bar 44 and the end of the screen 40 are also exposed for easy access thereto, and thus providing for quickly and easily changing the screen to obtain a finer or coarser grind. The breaker bar 44 rests upon the end of the screen 40 to hold the latter in place, and is in turn retained by means of a curved baffle 86 which is rigidly fixed to the side walls 81, 88 of the housing section 5I, respectively, and extends therebetween. The upper end of the baffle 85 connects with the lower end of an inclined feed table 89 within the housing 5|, and which also extends between the two side walls 81, 83 and forms a continuation of a feed chute 90, which is provided for the purpose of feeding certain kinds of small grain by hand to the hammer mill rotor when it is not desired to first chop them in the cutter head I6. It is possible to obtain a mixture of roughage and grain by feeding roughage to the cutter head and at the same time feeding grain through'the grain chute 90, whereby both the grain and roughage enter the hammer mill together and are mixed by the action of the hammer mill rotor. When the grain chute 90 is not in use, it can be blocked off by means of a closure plate 9I which is slidable vertically against the end of the housing 5I.

To facilitatedismounting the detachable housing section 5I, the latter is pivotally supported on a transverse axis at the end of the housing by means of a pair of axially aligned bolts 95 which are supported in a pair of upstanding ears 96 at the end of each of the frame member 2|. The housing member 5| is provided with a suitable flange along the plane of division 85, which abuts a flanged supporting frame member 98, which is fixed along the edge of the housing section 543 at the plane of division 85. The housing sections 50, 5| are secured together by means of a pair of suitable fasteners 99 which secure the flang of supporting shaft I 01 within the housing section 50. The shaft I0! is supported in bearings suitably mounted in the side walls 52, 53 of the housing and extends out of the housing in one direction to support a driving pulley I08 through which the web is driven. The bearings I09 of the shaft I01 are provided with suitable adjusting means IIO for the purpose of adjusting the tension in the compression web I 05 by shifting the bearings I09 and hence the pulley I06 horizontally on the walls 52, 53. The compression Web is trained over a pair of generally vertically spaced rolls I I I, I I2 and thus defining a substantially triangular path of travel for the compression web or feeder belt I05. Thus, the feeder belt is adapted to travel downwardly on an incline from the driving pulley I06 to the lower roll I I I which is normally directly above the feeder roll 80 and serves to compress the crop material and feed the latter to the cutter head over the stripper plate 83 and shear bar 15. The feeder belt makes an abrupt bend over the roll I I I and travels generally vertically away from the feed roll 80 from which it returns to the driving pulley I06 over the upper roll I I2.

In order to accommodate a variable amount of crop material fed to the cutter head, the rolls I I I,

II2 are mounted on a carriage, indicated genera ally by reference numeral H5 and shown indetail in Figures '7 and 8. The carriage H5 is mounted in the housing 50 by means which will be described presently, adapted to permit the. carriage to rise and fall to exert a substantially constant pressure against the material being fed to the cutter head.

the cover portion 5| to the flanged frame member 98, and is quickly detachable to provide for swinging the cover portion 5I outwardl about the pivot bolts 95.

One of the features of the present invention relates to the means by which the cutter head 1 can be quickly and easily removed from the housing. As best indicated in Figure 5, each of the side walls 52, 53 of the upper housing section 59 is provided with a generally horizontal slot I00 extending inwardly from the edge of the wall at the plane of division 85. This slot is wide enough to accommodate the shaft 60 of the cutter head I6. The outer ends of the slots I00 are closed by means of the frame members 98 and the slots are sealed to prevent leakage of comminuted crop material, by means of detachable plates IIBI which lie over the slots and overlap the same, as best indicated in Figure 5. The plates IOI are secured by bolts I02 to the frame members 93, as shown in Figures 3 and 4. The cutter head can easily be removed from the housing by detaching the frame members 98 from the edge of the housing walls 52, 53 and then removing the plates IOI from the slots I00, after which the cutter head can be slid outwardly through the slots.

Cooperative with the feed roll 80 is a compression web I05, which comprises a flexible endless belt made up of a plurality of transversely disposed steel slats attached to a suitable connecting chain. The compression web I05 is trained around a driving roll or pulley I06, mounted on a Each of the rolls III, I I2 is fixedly mounted on a shaft H6, H1, respectively, and pinned thereto by a pin I I8 which extends through suitably aligned aperture in the rolls and shafts. The ends of the shafts H6, II! are journaled in hubs I I 9, the two hubs at each end being supported in an end frame I20, I2I, respectively.- The two end frames I20, I2I are interconnected rigidly by means of a transverse frame member I22, which is securely fastened by bolts or rivets I23 to a pair of bosses I24 extending inwardly from the end frames I20, I2 I, respectively. Thus it is evident that the carriage I I5 rigidly supports the rotatable rolls II I, H2 and by preventing twisting of one roll relative to the other, insures that the latter rotate freely in their bearings.

The carriage H5 is disposed within the housing section 50 with the two hub members II9 at each side of the carriage extending out through a generally vertical slot I30. Each of the hubs II9 has a cylindrical outer surface I3I on which is journaled a supporting wheel I32. The wheels I32 engage a pair of track members I33, I34 disposed on opposite sides of the housing section 50. Each of the track members I 33, I34 comprises a pair of oppositely disposed channelshaped tracks I35 adapted to engage the opposite sides of each of the wheels I32, guiding the latter for vertical rolling movement but preventing lateral axial movement of the wheels, and thus preventing the carriage from moving axially within the housing 50. The tracks I35 on each of the track members I33, I 34 are spaced apart a distance slightly greater than the diameter of the wheels I32, so that the latter may freely roll on either track, depending upon the direction of pressure of the carriage upon the wheel.

The portions I3I of the hubs II9 on which the wheels I32 are journaled are reduced in diameter to provide shoulders I31 against which the wheels bear to resist the end thrust of the frame. The hubs IIS are secured on the shafts I I6, I I1 by cotter pins I36 inserted through apertures in the ends of the shafts outside of the hubs H9.

The tracks I35 are formed integral with supporting flanges I38 which are secured by bolts I39 to the side walls 52, 53, respectively.

The web I is urged downwardly against the crop material not only by the weight of the carriage I I5 but also by pressure exerted by springs I40, which are connected between a boss I II on top of the housing section 50 and a transverse bar I42 which is supported at opposite ends upon a pair 'of generally vertically disposed bars I43 extending downwardly through apertures in the top 54 of the housing 50 and which are bifurcated at their lower ends to fit over the upper hubs II9 to transmit the pressure of the springs I40 upon the latter. 7

In order to prevent the crop material from being thrown by the cutter head into engagement with the vertical portion of the feeder belt I05, a baffle I45 extends transversely between the cutter head and the vertical portion of the belt. The baffle I45 comprises a plate the ends I46 of which are'bent toward the carriage H5 and are rigidly fixed thereto by bolts I41. A stationary baffle I48 is flanged at I49 at opposite ends thereof, and is supported within the housing section 50 with its lower end substantially in contact with the baffle I45. Another stationary baffle I50 is supported by flanges I5I on opposite side walls 81, 88 of the housing section 5I and extends from the upper end of the stationary bafile I48 to the top wall of the housing portion 5I to which it is fixed by bolt means I52. It is obvious that as the carriage rises in the slot I30 the movable baffle I45 maintains a position close to the stationary balfie I48 to'prevent material from being thrown therebetween. By making the carriage travel in a straight line instead of on an are about the axis of the pulley I06, it is possible to position the roller III at a minimum distance from the shear bar 15 and thus to maintain control of the material being fed to the cutter head. Obviously, if the carriage moved on an are about the pulley shaft I01, the bafile I45 would have to be curved instead of straight, which would require th lower feed roller I II to be moved farther away from the cutter head and the shear bar. A traveling feed table I55 is provided for feeding crop material to the feed roll 80, and comprises an endless conveyor belt I56 trained over a roller I51 adjacent the feed roll 80, and another feed roll (not shown) at the outer end of the conveyor. The sides 52, 53 are extended along the sides of the conveyor I55.

When hay is fed to the machine to be chopped and ground, it is desirable to compress it and feed it under the compression web I05. This is accomplished by means of a hay roll I60 of novel design, shown in detail in Figures 9 and 10. The hay roll I60 comprises a shaft I6I journaled in a pair of bearings I62 mounted von the side walls 52, 53 of the housing 50, respectively, on which are mounted a pair of laterally spaced spiders I63 fixed to the shaft I6I by suitable keys E64. Preferably formed integrally with each of the spiders I63 is an end plate I65 having a plurality of straight sides I66, preferably four, as shown in the drawings, the edges of the sides I66 being turned outwardly to form obtuse angles with the side plates I65. beveled off to avoid having any sharp corners on Each of the corners I61 is V the crop material into the fan.

the end plates which might catch the hay: On the inner face of each of the side plates I65 is formed a plurality of radially extending lugs I10 disposed in diagonal alignment adjacent the corners of the plates and preferably formed integral therewith. Fixed to each of the lugs I10 is a laterally extending blade I1I, supported at its opposite ends by bolts I12 extending through suitable apertures in the blades HI and lugs I10. The outer edges of the blades I1I are scalloped, as indicated at I13, to provide a plurality of hay engaging points which act to urge the hay toward the cutter head as the hay roll revolves. The inner edges of the blades I'II terminate at an appreciable distance from the shaft IGI, however, and the spaces between each pair of adjacent blades I1I is occupied by a concave filler plate I14. The filler plates I14 are also supported on the bolts I12 and are also bolted together and to the blades I1I intermediate the plates by means of bolts I15, extending through aligned holes in the plates I14 and blades I1I, respectively. Each end of each of the concave plates I14 is braced by a raised rib I16 on the inner surface of the spider I63, to prevent the plates from bending inwardly under pressure of the hay during operation. The purpose of the end plates I65, in addition to serving as supports for the blades I1 I, is to prevent hay from wrapping on the shaft IBI at each end of the hay roll. The plates are made square rather than circular to provide a slightly aggressive action against the hay to prevent the latter from bridging over the edges I66 of the plates. Thus it is evident that a hay roll of this design is very effective in preventing any hay from catching upon the shaft or sides of the roll and the concave plates I14 enclosing the shaft, prevent the hay from packing into the center of the member. The hay roll is driven by means of a pulley I11 fixed to the shaft I6I outside of the housing wall 53.

The ground crop material is drawn from the bottom housing section I8 by means of a fan I comprising a circular housing I 0| fixed to the side wall I8 and having an intake opening in register with an aperture I82 in the side wall I8, as best indicated in Figure 5. Within the fan housing I8I is a three-bladed impeller or rotor I83 mounted on a shaft I84 which is journaled at one end in the housing I8I. The shaft I84 extends through the opening I82 and across the housing I5 to a journal bearing I 85, mounted outside the opposite wall of the housing substantially in the center of a circular intake opening I86. The bearing I85 is supported on a bracket I81, the latter being U-shaped in form and fixed to the housing wall I8 by bolt means I88. The bearing I35 is provided with laterally outwardly extending ears I89 which are secured by bolts I90 to the upper ends of the U-shaped bracket I81. The fan has a tangentially disposed exhaust duct I9I which is directed upwardlyand can be attached to any suitable discharge pipe for the purpose of blowing the comminuted crop material either into a silo or into a suitable centrifugal separator for the purpose of placing the material into sacks,v as well known to those skilled in the art.

The fan is driven by means of a pulley I92 fixed to the shaft I84 outside of the fan housing I8I, and draws air through the. intake opening I86 across the housing, in which the air sweeps I have found by experiment that the action of the air in sweeping material across the bottom of the trough formed by the downwardly converging bottom walls I5, is greatly improved by providing a pair of vanes I95 disposed on opposite sides of the air intake opening I83, as best indicated in Figure 6. The vanes are slightly curved to conform with the edge of the opening I86 and extend outwardly from the wall I8 substantially perpendicular thereto. The vanes are provided with supporting flanges I95 which are fixed to the walls l8 by bolts I 97. The vanes tend to prevent the formation of eddy currents in the flow of air and thus avoid dead spots and reduces the possibility of the material clogging in the fan intake opening I82.

' The means for driving the various elements of the comminuting machine will now be described. The mill is driven by a power transmitting belt (not shown) engaging the main pulley 34 on the shaft 25 of the hammer mill rotor. The fan rotor shaft- I 84 is driven from a sheave 239 fixed to the opposite end of the'hammer mill rotor shaft 25 and connected to the fan pulley I92 by a pair of belts 20!. A second pair of belts 68 engages the sheave 69 on the shaft 25 spaced inwardly fromthe sheave 23D, and drives the sheave 51 on the shaft 65 of the cutter head I6. The belts 68 are maintained tight by a suitable belt tightener 202. At the opposite end of the cutter head shaft 65 is the pulley Iii which drives the large sheave I2 through the belt II. The sheave I2 is disengageably connected to a shaft 293 by means of 'a governor mechanism, indicated generally by reference numeral 254 and which need not be described in detail here inasmuch as it does not constitute any essential part of the present invention; The governor shaft 253 extends transversely through the housing section 53 within the compression web I55 and projects out of the opposite wall 53. The driving pulley 255 is mounted on the end of the shaft 203 and is connected by a suitable belt or chain 206 to a comparatively large diameter pulley 25'! mounted on a shaft 233 which extends transversely of the housing portion 50 and is supported in a bearing 259 at the opposite "side thereof. A comparatively small pulley ZIilismounted on the shaft 203 adjacent the large pulley 20'! and drives the various elements of the crop feeding mechanism through a belt 2H, which is trained over a pulley I53 mounted on the shaft IQ! of the drive pu ey 5536 through which the compressor web or feeder belt I55 is driven. The belt 2!! passes under an idler pulley and over a drive pulley 2H for driving the travelling feed table I56 in the opposite direction of rotation to that of the hammer mill rotor shaft 25. The pulley 2M is mounted on the outer end of the shaft 2I5 which supports the drive pulley I5I for the feed table I55. A sprocket 2I6 on the opposite end of the shaft 2 I 5 drives a sprocket ZII on the shaft 8! of the feed roll 85, through a chain 2I8. Thus, every rotating member rotates in a clockwise direction as viewed in Figure 5, with the exception of the travelling feed table I53 and the feed roll 81] which turn clockwise. The pulley II'I for driving the hay roll I65 is driven by means of a belt 228 trained over a pulley 22I which is disposed on the shaft IE3? adjacent the drive pulley I08.

During operation, the roughage crops are placed on the travelling feed table I55 which delivers them to the feeder belt I05 and the feed roll 39 between which they are compressed and fed to the shear bar I5. The cutter head It chops the crops into short lengths, from which they drop to the hammer mill rotor I! which further reduces the size of the pieces until they can pass through the mesh of the screen 40. Small grain may be fed at the same time if desired, through the gate 9| over the table 89. The comminuted material falls to the bottom of the trough I9 and is drawn therefrom by the fan I89 and delivered to the silo or to the separator, The carriage II5 of the compressor web rises and falls to maintain a pressure on the crops being fed into the cutter head. The governor 204 functions to disconnect the large diameter sheave I2 from the governor shaft 253 in the'event of a decrease in speed of the hammer mill rotorshaft as occurs when the power plant driving the mill is overloaded. This action of the governor prevents any more'material being fed to the cutter head or hammer mill until the latter clear themselves. It frequently occurs that the crop material is placed on the feed table unevenly, resulting in bunches of excessive size of material entering the cutter head and overloading the same, making it desirable to interrupt the flow of crop material until the cutter head has a chance to dispose of the slug. Also, when the machine is being started or stopped, the governor serves to prevent the material from being fed into the cutter head before the latter has come up to speed or after it has begun to decelerate.

Referring now more particularly to Figures 11 and 12, I have provided a knife grinder built into the frame of the mill and forming a permanent part of the roughage and hammer mill, for the purpose of sharpening the helical knives 65 of the cutter head I6. The knife grinder, indicated generally by reference numeral 230, comprises a cyl ndrical emery wheel 23I, the central outer portion of which is'recessed at 232 to provide an annular cutting edge 233 on the outer face thereof. The wheel 23I is supported on a shaft 234 which is carried in a journal bearing 235 having an integrally formed flange 236 which is bolted to the frame of the mill by bolts 23?. A pulley 238 is fixed on the shaft 234 adjacent the wheel 23I and is adapted to receive a V-belt 239, indicated in dotted lines to show that the latter is not normally connected to the driving mechanism. When it is desired to use the knife grinder. one of the belts 58 is removed from the large diameter pulley S1 and the belt 239 is slipped over the latter in its place. A supporting table 240 is provided for the knife 65 and is disposed in front of the wheel 23I on a pair of frame members 2M which are attached to the frame of the mill and extend outwardly therefrom. The table 24!] is attached to the frame members 24I by bolts 242 which extend through slots 243 in the frame members 24I to provide for adjustably shifting the table 240 toward and away from the wheel 23I. The top of the table 243 is disposed in a horizontal plane and on the surface of the table is a raised guide ridge 245 which is curved to fit the back of the helical blade 65. The knives 65 are removed from the cutter head I6 and a pair of temporary handles 246 are provided for holding the knife with its back against the top of the table 240 in contact with the face of the guide 245, and the knife blade is tilted until the edge engages the grinding edge 233 of the stone 23L A short section of guiding ridge 241 is provided at one end of the table on the opposite side of the knife blade. The knife is ground by moving the frame laterally along the guide 245. Due to the fact that the knife blade is helical in form, the beveled edge is maintained at a uniform angle to the opposite side by holding the edge against the wheel and the back against the guide as the knife is moved laterally in engagement with the Wheel. I

I claim:

1. A combination chopper and hammer mill comprising, in combination, a chopping rotor, a cooperative cutter bar disposed on one side thereof, means for feeding crops to said cutter bar, a hammer mill rotor disposed below said chopping rotor to receive chopped material therefrom and offset therefrom on the side opposite said cutter bar, a housing for supporting said feeding means, said cutter bar, and said rotors, said housing comprising a single enclosure formed by a pair of cooperative sections divided along an inclined plane passing adjacent both rotors opposite said cutter bar and feeding means, and means supported on the housing section opposite that section which supports said rotors and substantially coextensive with said chopping and hammer mill rotors, for feeding crops into said enclosure directly to said hammer mill rotor.

2. A combination chopper and hammer mill comprising, in combination, a chopping rotor, a cooperative cutter bar disposed on one side thereof, means for feeding crops to said cutter bar, a hammer mill rotor disposed below said chopping rotor for receiving and grinding chopped crops from said chopping rotor and rotatable about an axis generally parallel thereto, a housing comprising a single enclosure formed by a pair of cooperative detachable sections, one of said sections supporting said rotors, said cutter bar, and said feedin means, and means supported n the other housing section and substantially coextensive with said chopping and hammer mill rotors for feeding crops into said enclosure directly to said hammer mill rotor.

3. A combination chopper and hammer mill comprising, in combination, a chopping rotor, a cooperative cutter bar disposed on one side thereof, means for feeding crops to said cutter bar, a hammer mill rotor disposed below said chopping rotor for receiving and grinding chopped crops from said chopping rotor and rotatable about an axis generally parallel thereto, a curved screen disposed under said hammer mill rotor, a housingcomprising a single enclosure formed by a pair of cooperative detachable sections divided along a plane passing through the paths of rotation of both of said rotors and above one end of said screen, and means supported on the housing section opposite to that which carries said rotors and substantially on a level with said chopping rotor, coextensive therewith, for feeding crops into said enclosure directly to said hammer mill rotor.

4. A combination chopper and hammer mill comprising, in combination, a chopping rotor, a cooperative cutter bar disposed on one side thereof, means for feeding crops to said cutter bar,

a hammer mill rotor disposed below said chopping rotor for receiving and grinding chopped crops from said chopping rotor, a curved screen disposed under said hammer mill rotor, and a single compartment housing comprising a lower section for supporting said hammer mill rotor and said screen, a two-part upper portion divided from the lower section along a generally horizontal plane passing substantially through the axis of said hammer mill rotor, said upper portion comprising two parts, one of which carries said chopping rotor, cutter bar, and feeding means, the other part serving as a detachable cover and divided therefrom along an inclined plane passing adjacent said chopping rotor and intersecting said horizontal plane of division to provide easy access to said rotors and said screen, and a feed chute mounted on said cover part coextensive with and substantially on the same level as said chopping rotor for feeding crops into said compartment directly to said hammer mill rotor.

5. A device as set forth in claim 4, further characterized in that said housing has sheet metal walls and a pair of unitary brackets disposed on opposite sides, respectively, for rigidly supporting said chopping rotor, said cutter bar, and at least a portion of said feeding means, in fixed relation to each other.

6. A combination chopper and hammer mill comprising, in combination, a housing, a chopping rotor journaled therein, a cooperative cutter bar disposed on one side thereof, means for feeding crops to said cutter bar from one side of said housing, a hammer mill rotor disposed in said housing below said chopping rotor and offset therefrom toward the side opposite said cutter bar and adapted to receive chopped crops therefrom, said rotors being disposed for rotation about generally parallel axes, a feed table disposed on the opposite side of said housing substantially on the same level as said chopper feeding means and coextensive therewith, for feeding crops directly to said hammer mill rotor, and means for rotating said rotors in the sam direction of rotation, said direction being such that the hammers on top of said hammer mill rotor travel away from said feed table and downward- 1y beneath said chopping rotor.

HENRY E. KORUIVL 

